Press Releases, 5/28/2012

Minister Hautala to visit Tanzania: Natural resources the theme

Press release 126/2012
28 May 2012

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will visit Tanzania from 29 May to 3 June. During her trip the Minister will learn about topical Tanzanian development issues and the development cooperation financed by Finland, she will have talks with the Government of Tanzania concerning the implementation of the new Finnish development policy programme, and she will participate in the annual meeting of the African Development Bank. The special theme of the trip is sustainable use of natural resources and the equitable distribution of their benefits among citizens.

During her trip, Minister Hautala and the Tanzanian Minister of Finance will sign the budget support agreement between Finland and Tanzania. In addition, she will meet with Dr Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East African Community, she will be a panellist at the Finnish-funded Dar es Salaam Institute for Sustainable Development (Uongozi) and will speak about development cooperation in a multilateral world, and she will meet with representatives of Finnish and Tanzanian civil society organisations.

The Minister will make a field trip to the Iringa Region of Tanzania with the aim of discussing the challenges associated with the Finnish private forestry sector project that is now beginning. These include land use and its planning, tree planting by small farmers, biodiversity and development of the region’s forest industry.

The Minister’s trip takes place at an interesting time with regard to Tanzania’s development. The country is now experiencing a major economic transformation; economic growth has been continuing for a decade at a rate of seven per cent per annum and there is an influx of investments, particularly from developing countries. Economic growth is expected to double from the present level when the natural gas deposits discovered in the southern sea area are taken into use. Despite the rapid economic growth, about one-third of Tanzania’s population lives in extreme poverty.